Episode 134 // Mike McCartney of the Pawhuska Chamber of Commerce
Today on the Rural Revival podcast we’re with Mike McCartney, director of the Pawhuska Chamber of Commerce for a second time, in Pawhuska, Oklahoma (pop. 3,456). We’re talking about all things economic development, starting with the revitalization efforts that helped pave the way for the Pioneer Woman Mercantile and the tourism rush that followed, plus business incubators, people moving in from out of state, finding workers and housing to accommodate growth, and what happens when everybody says ‘somebody should do that’… and how that somebody is you.
You will learn so much from this conversation, and you’ll love that Mike is living his dream, as well as his passion to continue to push the vision forward in Pawhuska. If you find yourself in Pawhuska, stop by the Chamber and say hi to Mike and Reba! They’ll be glad to welcome you to town!
Everybody seemed to say, ‘hey, you need to’ and ‘you all ought to be doing’ and ‘why don’t you’ and nobody seemed to be paying attention to what they thought they needed to be doing. So one day I told Kathy, ‘we’re ‘they’ and maybe we better do something.’
— Mike McCartney
When you keep your eye on the prize and your baby girl moves home, that means something.
— Mike McCartney
You don’t have to do it all right now.
— Mike McCartney
We were blessed to have Ree Drummond choose to open up her shop in Pawhuska and it has just bloomed from there.
— Mike McCartney
The Pioneer Woman Mercantile before renovations
You have to keep reinventing.
— Mike McCartney
The former Shoppes at Townmaker Square
If this conversation gets you excited, you should seriously consider joining our Cultivate community. Inside the group we have conversations a lot like this one! Cultivate provides the community, tools, resources, action steps, and network you need to take your revitalization efforts to the next level and keep gaining momentum.
There are lots of perks for joining this group, and I’ll just let you know, this is where I share my best ideas! For the month of September you can come join our Cultivate community for FREE to see what it’s all about. Find all the details at ruralrevival.co/cultivate, and use code CULTIVATEFREE (all one word) for your free access. I hope to see you in the group!
